Nagashino
The Battle of Nagashino (長篠の戦い) is a battle romanticized for its use of firearms, which were used previously but never as a primary measure by Japanese armies. The Takeda cavalry, known until then as a formidable and impenetrable force, fell against the bullets and the formation Nobunaga fortified. Katsuyori lost several treasured officers, including three of Shingen's four honored vassals. In fiction, Nobunaga is often praised as the battle's supreme victor, but it was actually Ieyasu who profited more from the battle. He gained a vassal prior to the conflict and was able to expand his territory after their victory. Role in Games Samurai Warriors In this series, this battle signals the end of the Takeda. The first game has Nobunaga's army defending from the fierce cavalry. With morale low, Nobunaga and his vassals are given missions to protect the supply depot and Mitsuhide. From there, they may provoke the Takeda army to advance by taking an enemy camp and provoking Naito to charge. They may be given another objective to protect the riflemen so they can fire. If they succeed, their plan to fire the rifles will succeed and Yukimura charges for the main camp. Katsuyori will attempt to flee and the Oda-Tokugawa army pursue him. Should the plan fail, morale will plummet and the battle will be harder to win. Yukimura's upper path and the player's original character focuses on defending Katsuyori at Nagashino. To secure an escape path, they capture Nagashino castle at the start of the conflict. Keiji and Hanzo both attempt to charge the main camp and take Katsuyori's head. In spite of their efforts, Katsuyori eventually loses patience and orders a full scale assault, falling into Nobunaga's trap. Yukimura, desperate to claim victory, offers to perform a solo charge for Nobunaga's head. With the battle a severe defeat for the Takeda army, Katsuyori safely retreats. Shingen's version of Nagashino is similar to his son's version. The main difference between them is that Shingen waits and focuses on defense. As he does, rain falls and the Oda rifles become useless. Using this window of opportunity, Shingen orders his men to advance to victory. Masamune, in his quest to rule the land, also leads a campaign here to defeat Nobunaga and Shingen. Suffering a defeat at Mikawa, he flees with his forces to Nagashino to avenge his loss and simultaneously halt Shingen. Samurai Warriors 2 better includes Ieyasu and Tadakatsu as a major defense for Nobunaga's camp. The Oda-Tokugawa side of the battle prevents the Takeda advance force from reaching the ally main camp. Once the rifles fire, Katsuyori sees that he is losing ground and attempts to escape. From then on, the battle becomes a chase for his head. Upon forcing Katsuyori's retreat, Nobunaga orders the total annihilation of the remaining Takeda vassals. The Takeda version of the stage remains somewhat similar to the previous title. Yukimura's version of the stage has the ally army already losing and Yukimura is fighting for his survival. Warriors Orochi During one of the Gaiden stages in the Samurai story, Shingen and Kenshin work together to distract Orochi's army near Guan Du. Though they were prepared to die at any time, Nobunaga sends a generous relief force lead by Huang Zhong to aid them. On this battleground, they face an army lead by Cao Pi and Sun Quan. On the verge of defeat, both proceed calmly and rely on an ambush by the Takeda cavalry. Cao Pi suspects of an enemy plot and orders Cao Ren to investigate. After the horsemen are safely escorted, Kanetsugu leads them to wreck havoc within Orochi's troops. With the plan a success, Shingen and Kenshin switch to offense and rout the enemy leaders. While they win the battle, Orochi's army diverts their attention towards Nobunaga. To lessen their ally's burden, Shingen and Kenshin take on the main force, leaving Nobunaga with the smaller remnants at Fan Castle. In Warriors Orochi 2, Zhang Fei and Tadakatsu work together to fight Lu Bu's massive army here. Lu Bu ignores tactics and sends his army in waves towards Liu Bei. To counter, the Shu army fortify their defenses against Lu Bu's siege weapons. They receive reinforcements from Lu Xun, who is ordered by his lord to assist. Lu Xun suggests a surprise attack on Lu Bu's third base guarded by Diao Chan. Lu Bu forgets about his army and hurries to rescue her. This allows Liu Bei's army and Lu Xun to catch the instigator in a pincer. After the battle, Lu Xun informs them of the land's new threat, Kiyomori. Kessen Kessen III stages Nagashino as the decisive battle in chapter 7. Ieyasu requests reinforcements from the Takeda and Nobunaga decides to aid him with rifles. Although he makes an open call for officers skilled with firearms, Mitsuhide excuses himself from the conflict to tame Tamba province. Nobunaga allows the departure and readies his men to march. When they arrive on the battlefield, Ieyasu thanks Nobunaga but worries that the rainfall will spoil their rifles. As Katsuyori is confident that the stormy weather will lead to Nobunaga's downfall, Yoshino assures them that the rain will cease as they fight. Nobunaga and Ieyasu's armies are stationed on the bottom of the map behind three separate wooden barricades. They face the larger Takeda force from the north who relentlessly charge the three barricades. Since they are crossing a river before Nobunaga's army, their speed is not as quick as usual. Nobunaga can only choose two more generals to assist him since his required generals are himself, Yoshino, Ieyasu and Tadakatsu. Equipping rifles and spamming their troop ability behind the barricades is the simplest way to win the battle. Ideally, only one or two of the barricades will break from the Takeda's assault, which may require one or two strong war generals to defend against the invading forces. If the player can spare quick troops, they may lead them to collect items in the north and around the river. During the battle, Nobuharu Baba, Masakage Yamagata and Masanobu Kosaka will receive in-game cutscenes for their deaths. Historical Information Background Info Category:Samurai Warriors Battles